More solar power could be coming to Pickering

Council lends support to several project proposals

PICKERING -- The future is bright for Pickering solar as council voted to support several new proposals.

A joint proposal from Veridian and Solera Sustainable Energies to build solar panels on the roof of the Claremont Community Centre got support from council on Dec. 10, with councillors voting to allow staff to proceed with a contract to lease out the facility's roof.

The project would see a 99-kilowatt solar array constructed on the roof in exchange for $120,000 in guaranteed revenue over the duration of the 20-year lease, or about $6,000 per year for the City.

Councillor Bill McLean expressed reservations other partnership options weren't explored, asking if the City might be better off doing a similar project on its own.

"We did a fairly thorough review of all our facilities when we received this proposal and one issue we found is capacity restraint," said Thomas Melymuk, director of the Office of Sustainability for Pickering, noting many City facilities didn't have the easy access to the power grid required for solar projects.

Only Claremont Community Centre and Petticoat Creek Community Centre offered viable options.

"While Claremont proved to be the best option structurally, we had no budget money to proceed ourselves, so a partnership was deemed the best way to go," Mr. Melymuk continued, noting a City-owned solar project for Petticoat Creek would be considered as part of 2013 budget deliberations.

Coun. David Pickles called the project a good fit for Pickering.

"I think this is a good deal," he said. "It will serve us very well and also serve as an example of sustainability in the community."

Coun. Doug Dickerson also pointed out the City could see benefits beyond the annual $6,000; since the City owns 43 per cent of Veridian and Solera is a Pickering company, the success of either organization could mean financial benefits to the City through investments or job creation.

"This gives us a good position going forward and speaks well to Pickering's efforts at sustainability," Coun. Dickerson said. "It causes us to be able to put our money where our mouth is."

Council unanimously approved the proposal, with an amendment from Coun. McLean that the final contract be brought back to council for approval.

Council also endorsed requests for support from three other private solar proposals, which would see roof top panels installed at 790 Kingston Rd., 1655 Feldspar Crt. and 890 Brock Rd. Under the new Ontario Power Authority Fit 2.0 feed-in tariff program, applications that have secured council support are given priority points.